System and method for generating digital marks

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for generating digital marks. One of the methods includes: obtaining entity information of an entity; transmitting the entity information to one or more nodes of a blockchain for storage in the blockchain; obtaining a transaction identification associated with storing the entity information in the blockchain; and generating a digital mark for the entity based at least on the transaction identification.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation application of the U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/472,606 filed on Jun. 21, 2019 and entitled“SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GENERATING DIGITAL MARKS”, which is a nationalphase application of International Application No. PCT/CN2019/076476,filed on Feb. 28, 2019. Both of the above-referenced applications arehereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application generally relates to methods and devices for generatingdigital marks.

BACKGROUND

Certificates can provide evidence or proof for economic transactions orother activities and may serve certain legal ends. For traditionalexchanges, certificates are paper-based and endorsed by rubber-ink sealsor signatures. In one example, a corporate seal or signature representsthe associated enterprise as officially registered. However, papercertificates can be easily lost or damaged. In response to that, digitalcertificates are gradually replacing paper-based certificates toovercome such disadvantages. Nevertheless, digital certificates areeasier to copy or otherwise falsify than the paper certificates. Incurrent technologies, digital certificates are often implemented asdigital images or pdf renderings of the physical certificates. Suchdigital certificates are susceptible to tampering or other unauthorizedalteration. As a result, despite providing certain conveniences overpaper certificates, current digital certificates cannot ensure securityand often diminish or lose their effect as legal evidence. It istherefore desirable to have secure and tamper-proof digitalcertificates.

SUMMARY

Various embodiments of the specification include, but are not limitedto, systems, methods, and non-transitory computer readable media forgenerating blockchain-based digital marks.

According to one aspect, a computer-implemented method for generatingdigital marks comprises: obtaining entity information of an entity;transmitting the entity information to one or more nodes of a blockchainfor storage in the blockchain; obtaining a transaction identificationassociated with storing the entity information in the blockchain; andgenerating a digital mark for the entity based at least on thetransaction identification.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: generating a digitalabstract of a digital certificate associated with the entity;transmitting the digital abstract of the digital certificate to the oneor more nodes of the blockchain for storage in the blockchain; obtaininganother transaction identification associated with storing the digitalabstract of the digital certificate to the blockchain; and associatingthe digital mark with the another transaction identification. Theassociation of the digital mark with the another transactionidentification shows endorsement by the entity. The method may furthercomprise transmitting an association relationship of the association ofthe digital mark with the another transaction identification to the oneor more nodes for storage in the blockchain.

In other embodiments, the method further comprises: generating a digitalabstract of a digital certificate associated with the entity; andassociating the digital mark with the digital abstract. The associationof the digital mark with the digital abstract shows endorsement by theentity. The method may further comprise transmitting an associationrelationship of the association of the digital mark with the digitalabstract to the one or more nodes for storage in the blockchain.

In still other embodiments, the method further comprises: associatingthe digital mark with a digital certificate associated with the entity.The association of the digital mark with the digital certificate showsendorsement by the entity. The method may further comprise transmittingan association relationship of the association of the digital mark withthe digital certificate to the one or more nodes for storage in theblockchain.

In some embodiments, the digital mark comprises at least one of adigital seal or a digital signature. In one embodiment, the digital markcomprises a digital seal. In another embodiment, the digital markcomprises a digital signature.

In some embodiments, the digital mark is associable with a digitalcertificate to show endorsement by the entity.

In other embodiments, transmitting the entity information to the one ormore nodes of the blockchain for storage in the blockchain comprises:writing at least the entity information into a blockchain contract; andcausing the one or more nodes to initiate a blockchain transaction todeploy the blockchain contact.

In still other embodiments, the transaction identification comprises ahash value of the blockchain transaction.

In yet other embodiments, the digital mark comprises a hash value of theblockchain transaction.

In some embodiments, the entity is a corporation; and the entityinformation comprises corporation registration information certified byan official agency.

In other embodiments, the method further comprises: transmitting anassociation relationship between the entity and the digital mark to theone or more nodes for storage in the blockchain.

In still other embodiments, a digital mark generation system comprises:one or more processors; and one or more computer-readable memoriescoupled to the one or more processors and having instructions storedthereon that are executable by the one or more processors to perform themethod of any of the preceding embodiments.

In yet other embodiments, a digital mark generation apparatus comprisesa plurality of modules for performing the method of any of the precedingembodiments.

According to another aspect, a digital mark generation system comprisesone or more processors and one or more non-transitory computer-readablememories coupled to the one or more processors and configured withinstructions executable by the one or more processors to cause thesystem to perform operations comprising: obtaining entity information ofan entity; transmitting the entity information to one or more nodes of ablockchain for storage in the blockchain; obtaining a transactionidentification associated with storing the entity information in theblockchain; and generating a digital mark for the entity based at leaston the transaction identification.

According to another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium is configured with instructions executable by one or moreprocessors to cause the one or more processors to perform operationscomprising: obtaining entity information of an entity; transmitting theentity information to one or more nodes of a blockchain for storage inthe blockchain; obtaining a transaction identification associated withstoring the entity information in the blockchain; and generating adigital mark for the entity based at least on the transactionidentification.

According to another aspect, a blockchain-based digital mark generationapparatus may comprise a first obtaining module for obtaining entityinformation of an entity; a transmitting module for transmitting theentity information to one or more nodes of a blockchain for storage inthe blockchain; a second obtaining module for obtaining a transactionidentification associated with storing the entity information in theblockchain; and a generating module for generating a digital mark forthe entity based at least on the transaction identification.

Embodiments disclosed in the specification have one or more technicaleffects. In some embodiments, the methods and systems can generatetamper-proof marks for representing entity endorsement. Storage in theblockchain allows for accurate record keeping of the original data. Inother embodiments, when an entity registers its information (e.g., withan authority), the registration information can be stored to theblockchain in a blockchain transaction. Thus, the registrationinformation becomes immutable and retrievable for verification. In yetother embodiments, the methods and systems can generate unique digitalmarks associated with the registered entities for them to endorsedigital certificates or other data. In still other embodiments, thedigital mark can be generated based on a transaction identificationassociated with storing the registration information in the blockchain.This uniquely links the digital mark to the corresponding registeredentity and prevents fabrication of identities. In some embodiments, themethods and systems store association relationships between generateddigital marks and corresponding entities in the blockchain. As a result,the digital marks are anchored with the corresponding entities, whichcan prevent unauthorized and fraudulent use of digital marks.

These and other features of the systems, methods, and non-transitorycomputer readable media disclosed herein, as well as the methods ofoperation and functions of the related elements of structure and thecombination of parts and economies of manufacture, will become moreapparent upon consideration of the following description and theappended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, all ofwhich form a part of this specification, wherein like reference numeralsdesignate corresponding parts in the various figures. It is to beexpressly understood, however, that the drawings are for purposes ofillustration and description only and are not intended as limiting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A illustrates an example of a blockchain-based digital certificatesystem, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 1B illustrates an example of a blockchain network, in accordancewith various embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a method for generatingblockchain-based digital marks, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a method for issuing blockchain-baseddigital certificates, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a method for verifying blockchain-baseddigital certificates, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 5A illustrates a flow chart of an example of a method forgenerating blockchain-based digital marks, in accordance with variousembodiments.

FIG. 5B illustrates a flow chart of an example of a method forimplementing blockchain-based digital certificates, in accordance withvarious embodiments.

FIG. 6A illustrates a block diagram of an example of a blockchain-baseddigital mark generation computer system, in accordance with variousembodiments.

FIG. 6B illustrates a block diagram of an example of a blockchain-baseddigital certificate computer system, in accordance with variousembodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a computer system inwhich any of the embodiments described herein may be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments disclosed herein include, but are not limited to,blockchain-based digital mark generation systems, methods, andnon-transitory computer readable media. In various embodiments, adigital mark (e.g., a seal/signature) may be generated based onofficially verified information of the entity to serve as an endorsementby the entity. In some embodiments, a digital certificate may be issuedbased on anchoring the digital certificate with the endorsing digitalmark. The immutability, consistency, and accuracy of blockchain canensure the validity and uniqueness of the digital certificate andprevents tampering which often causes inconsistency or inaccuracy. Inother embodiments, certifying digital certificates with digitalsignatures links the certificate contents with the certifying entities.Thus, the validity of the digital certificates can be effectivelyverified, the security of the digital certificates is improved, andtheir legal effect is promoted.

In various embodiments, the disclosed digital certificate systems,methods, and non-transitory computer readable media may be based onvarious types of blockchains depending on who is allowed to participatein the network, execute the consensus protocol, and maintain the sharedblockchain ledger. The various types of blockchain may include, forexample, public blockchain, consortium blockchain, private blockchain,etc. The description hereinafter refers to consortium blockchain.Notwithstanding, the disclosed digital certificate systems, methods, andnon-transitory computer readable media may be applied with respect toother types of blockchain as well.

A blockchain may be considered a decentralized or partially centralizeddatabase, commonly referred to as a distributed ledger because theoperation is performed by various nodes (e.g., computing devices) in anetwork. Any information may be written to the blockchain and saved orread from it. Nodes are, for example, computing devices or largecomputer systems that support the blockchain network and keep it runningsmoothly. Each node may provide a part or all of the functions of theblockchain. For example, a node that provides consensus verification maybe referred to as a consensus-participating node (or consensus node).Consensus may be an algorithm of rules for a network of blockchain nodesto achieve commonly-accepted processing results. Through consensus, datais continuously added into a chain of blocks. If changes are made to theblock, its link to the preceding block in the chain becomes invalid, andit becomes visible to all network participants who, through theconsensus rules, may prevent any further unauthorized actions.

Consortium blockchain refers to a blockchain with consensus procedurescontrolled by preset nodes. The blockchain may allow everyone or onlyapproved participants to access or adopt a hybrid access method. Forexample, the root hash and its API (Application Program Interface) maybe open to the public; external parties are allowed to use API to make acertain number of inquiries and obtain information relating toblockchain status.

Consortium blockchains can best be understood when compared to theirmore popular counterpart, public blockchains. A public blockchainpossesses no access restriction, meaning that absolutely anyone with aninternet connection can become a participant of a public blockchain.More specifically, anyone in the world is able to read data that isincluded on the blockchain, and anyone in the world is allowed toexecute transactions on a public blockchain. Also, there is norestriction as to who can participate in the consensus process forblockchains, which is the process that determines the individual orentity that can add a block to the blockchain. Public blockchains areconsidered to be fully decentralized, with control over the blockchainnot being in the hands of any single individual or entity.

Consortium blockchains differ from their public counterparts in thatthey are permissioned, thus, not just anyone with an internet connectioncould gain access to a consortium blockchain. These types of blockchainscould also be described as being semi-decentralized. Control over aconsortium blockchain is not granted to a single entity, but rather agroup of approved individuals. With a consortium blockchain, theconsensus process is likely to differ from that of a public blockchain.Instead of anyone being able to partake in the procedure, consensusparticipants of a consortium blockchain are likely to be a group ofpre-approved nodes on the network. The nodes may correspond to variouscountries, enterprises, or other entities. Thus, consortium blockchainspossess the security features that are inherent in public blockchains,whilst also allowing for a greater degree of control over the network.

FIG. 1A shows an example of a system 110 for performing variousdisclosed steps and methods, in accordance with various embodiments. Asshown, the system 110 may comprise a registration system 111, ablockchain system 112, a certification system 113, and an officialagency system 114, each of which may correspond to one or more physicalhardware devices or virtual devices coupled together via various typesof communications represented by a network 119.

Each of the registration system 111, the blockchain system 112, thecertification system 113, and the official agency system 114 may beimplemented in one or more computing devices such as servers, computers,mobile phones, etc. For example, each of the systems may be implementedin a cluster of servers. The cluster of servers may employ loadbalancing.

Although the registration system 111, the blockchain system 112, thecertification system 113, and the official agency system 114 are shownas single components in this figure, it should be appreciated that thesesystems can be implemented as single devices or multiple devices coupledtogether. That is, two or more of the systems in FIG. 1A may beintegrated into a single system or implemented as separate systems. Forexample, the registration system 111 and the certification system 113may be integrated into a digital certificate system 118 comprising oneor more computing devices. The digital certificate system 118 may bereferred to as a blockchain-based digital certificate system. Ifintegrated, the registration system 111 and the certification system 113may be implemented as various modules or similar components of theintegrated system.

Each of the registration system 111, the blockchain system 112, thecertification system 113, and the official agency system 114 may beinstalled with appropriate software (e.g., registration applicationprogram interface, blockchain application program interface, digitalcertificate generation program, official agency application interface)and/or hardware (e.g., wires, wireless connections) to access othersystems or devices of the system 110. Each of the registration system111, the blockchain system 112, the certification system 113, and theofficial agency system 114 may include one or more processors and one ormore memories coupled to the one or more processors. The memories may benon-transitory and computer-readable and be configured with instructionsexecutable by one or more processors to cause the one or more processorsto perform operations described herein.

In general, the registration system 111, the blockchain system 112, thecertification system 113, and the official agency system 114 may be ableto communicate with one another through the network 119. For example,the registration system 111, the blockchain system 112, thecertification system 113, and the official agency system 114 may be ableto communicate with one another through one or more wired or wirelessnetworks (e.g., the Internet) through which data can be communicated.Various aspects of the system components are described in furtherdetails below in reference to FIG. 1B to FIG. 7.

FIG. 1B shows an example of a blockchain network 120, in accordance withvarious embodiments. As shown, the blockchain network 120 may comprisethe blockchain system 112 described above. The blockchain system 112 maycomprise a plurality of blockchain nodes (e.g., node 1, node 2, node 3,node 4, node i, etc.). The blockchain nodes may form a network (e.g.,peer-to-peer network) with one blockchain node communicating withanother. The order and the number of the blockchain nodes as shown aremerely examples and for the simplicity of illustration. The blockchainnodes may be implemented in servers, computers, etc. Each blockchainnode may correspond to one or more physical hardware devices or virtualdevices coupled together via various types of communication methods suchas TCP/IP. Depending on the classifications, the blockchain nodes maycomprise full nodes, Geth nodes, consensus nodes, etc.

In various embodiments, one or more nodes of the blockchain system 112may interact with other systems and devices such as the registrationsystem 111, the certification system 113, and the official agency system114 described above. The interactions may involve transmission and/orreception of data for the purpose of, for instance, transactions,certificating, contracting, etc. In one example, node A (e.g., mobilephone, computer, etc.) may correspond to a device of the digitalcertificate system 118 and may transmit information to node 1 (or aplurality of nodes of the blockchain system 112) for storage in theblockchain. The storage process may be accomplished through a blockchaintransaction. For instance, the information may be written into ablockchain contract (e.g., smart contract), and the blockchaintransaction may be initiated by the node 1 (or one or more other nodeswhich have such privilege based on the blockchain consensus rules) todeploy the contract to the blockchain. Similar to other blockchaintransactions, the transaction here may correspond to a transaction hash.The transaction hash may be an output of subjecting various transactioninformation to a hash function. The blockchain may store the hash valueof the transaction. Later, when the information needs to be retrieved(e.g., for verification), node A/node B (e.g., mobile phone, computer,etc.) may instruct node 1/node 2 (or a plurality of nodes of theblockchain system 112) to initiate another transaction to obtain theinformation from the blockchain. The another transaction may query theaddress to obtain the information. Node B may belong to the digitalcertificate system 118, the official agency system 114, or anothersystem (not shown) coupled to the blockchain system 112.

In the interaction with the blockchain system 112, node A and node B maybe installed with appropriate blockchain software to initiate, forward,or access the transaction. Node A may access the blockchain throughcommunication with node 1 or one or more other nodes of the blockchain,and node B may access the blockchain through communication with node 2or one or more other nodes of the blockchain. Node A may submit thetransaction to the blockchain through node 1 or similar nodes to requestadding the transaction to the blockchain.

The blockchain may be maintained by a plurality of blockchain nodes eachcomprising or coupling to a memory. In some embodiments, the memory maystore a pool database. The pool database may be accessible to theplurality of blockchain nodes in a distributed manner. For example, thepool database may be respectively stored in the memories of theblockchain nodes. The pool database may store a plurality oftransactions submitted by the one or more user devices similar to nodeA.

In some embodiments, after receiving a transaction request of anunconfirmed transaction, the recipient blockchain node may perform somepreliminary verification of the transaction. For example, referring toFIG. 1B, node 1 may perform the preliminary verification after receivinga transaction from node A. Once verified, the transaction may be storedin the pool database of the recipient blockchain node (e.g., node 1),which may also forward the transaction to one or more other blockchainnodes (e.g., node 3, node 4). The one or more other blockchain nodes mayrepeat the process done by the recipient node. Once the transactions inthe corresponding pool database reach a certain level (e.g., a thresholdamount), the blockchain nodes may each verify the batch of transactionsin the corresponding pool database according to consensus rules or otherrules.

If the blockchain transaction involves a blockchain contract (e.g.,smart contract), the blockchain node may execute the blockchain contractlocally. A blockchain contract is a computer protocol intended todigitally facilitate, verify, or enforce the negotiation or performanceof a contract. Blockchain contracts allow the performance of credibleblockchain transactions without third parties. An example of ablockchain transaction may encode data in contract code for data storage(by contract deployment) and retrieval (by accessing or executingcontract). The blockchain contract may include user-written contractcode, such as entity information, digital abstract of a digitalcertificate, etc.

A certain blockchain node that successfully verifies its batch ofblockchain transactions in accordance with consensus rules may pack theblockchain transactions to add to its local copy of the blockchain andspread the results to other blockchain nodes. The certain blockchainnode may be a blockchain node that has first successfully completed theverification, that has obtained the verification privilege, or that hasbeen determined based on another consensus rule, etc. Then, the otherblockchain nodes may execute the blockchain transactions locally, verifythe execution results with one another (e.g., by performing hashcalculation), and synchronize their copies of the blockchain with thatof the certain blockchain node. By updating their local copies of theblockchain, the other blockchain nodes may similarly write suchinformation in the blockchain transaction into respective localmemories. Thus, the blockchain contract is deployed. A deployed contractcan be later accessed through its corresponding address on blockchainfor execution. For example, the data stored in the contract can beretrieved. If the verification fails at some point, the blockchaintransaction is rejected. Notwithstanding the above, other types ofblockchain systems and associated consensus rules may be applied to thedisclosed blockchain system.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a method 200 for generatingblockchain-based digital marks, in accordance with various embodiments.The method 200 may be implemented by one or more components (e.g., theregistration system 111, the blockchain system 112, the certificationsystem 113, the official agency system 114) of the system 110 of FIG.1A. As described earlier, though shown as separate systems, theregistration system 111 and the certification system 113 may beintegrated into the digital certificate system 118 comprising one ormore computing devices. The operations presented below are intended tobe illustrative. Depending on the implementation, the method 200 mayinclude additional, fewer, or alternative steps performed in variousorders or in parallel.

In some embodiments, at step 211, a first entity may initiateinformation registration through the registration system 111. Theregistration information may comprise the entity's identity information,such as identification number, address, contact information, etc. Theentity may be associated with an individual, a corporation orenterprise, an organization, etc. For example, a corporation mayinitiate registration of corporate information with the registrationsystem 111 by submitting information of the corporation (e.g., a name ofthe corporation, a representative of the corporation, a contact of thecorporation, etc.).

At step 212, the registration system 111 may transmit a verificationrequest 212 to the certification system 113. The registrationinformation may also be transmitted to the certification system 113.

At step 213, the certification system 113 may request verification ofthe identity of the entity with the official agency system 114. Forexample, the certification system 113 may communicate with anapplication program interface of the official agency system 114 toverify the identity. For another example, the certification system 113may transmit the registration information to request the official agencysystem 114 to query a corporation registration database and verify theidentity of the corporation.

At step 214, the official agency system 114 may return a verificationresult to the certification system 113.

At step 221, if the verification succeeds, the certification system 113may transmit the registration information to the blockchain system 112to store in a blockchain maintained by the blockchain system 112. Theregistration information may be considered public information andavailable to various nodes of the blockchain.

In various embodiments, certification system 113 may include one or morelightweight nodes (e.g., node A, node B). The certification system 113may initiate a blockchain transaction (or transaction for short) througha node of the blockchain system 112 (e.g., node 1) coupled to thelightweight node(s). For example, the registration information may bewritten into a blockchain contract (e.g., smart contract), and theblockchain transaction may be initiated to deploy the contract to theblockchain. By the deployment, the contract is accessible from theblockchain for execution, retrieval, or other operations. The blockchaintransaction in this case may correspond to a transaction identification(e.g., first transaction hash). For example, the blockchain transactionidentification can be a hash value of the blockchain transaction. Thetransaction identification may be also associated with the entity. Theblockchain may store the registration information. The blockchain mayalso store the corresponding transaction identification. Thus, theblockchain transaction identification and the registration informationare anchored (associated). By querying the transaction identification,the blockchain-stored registration information can be retrieved. Forexample, when the blockchain transaction identification is sent to theblockchain system 112 (e.g., a blockchain node), the blockchain system112 may execute the blockchain contract to retrieve theblockchain-stored registration information. There are many othersuitable ways to store and retrieve the registration information on theblockchain. A person having ordinary skill in the art should appreciatethat the embodiments of this specification are not limited to the aboveexample. The transaction and transaction identification described inthis paragraph may be referred to as the first transaction and firsttransaction identification.

At step 222, the blockchain system 112 may return the first transactionidentification (e.g., digital abstract) to the certification system 113.The first transaction identification may be a digital tamper-proofrepresentation that uniquely represents the entity and corresponds tothe registration information. For example, the blockchain system 112 mayreturn the hash value of the first transaction as the first transactionidentification to the certification system 113. The first transactionidentification indicates that the entity exists in the blockchain.

At step 231, the certification system 113 may generate a digital mark(e.g., digital signature/seal) based at least on the first transactionidentification for the entity. The digital mark (e.g., digitalsignature/seal) can be uniquely identified based on the firsttransaction identification (e.g., the hash value of the firsttransaction). The certification system 113 may maintain a relationshipbetween the entity and the digital mark (e.g., digital signature/seal).

At step 241, the certification system 113 may transmit the associationrelationship between the digital mark (e.g., digital signature/seal) andthe entity to the blockchain system 112 to store in the blockchain.Thus, the association relationship between the generated digital mark(e.g., digital signature/seal) and the entity may be stored by theblockchain system 112 and/or the certification system 113.

In various embodiments, the certification system 113 may initiateanother blockchain transaction through a node of the blockchain system112. The transaction described in this paragraph may be referred to asecond transaction and correspond to a second transactionidentification. For example, an association relationship of theassociation in step 241 between the digital mark (e.g., digitalsignature/seal) and the entity may be written into a blockchain contract(e.g., smart contract). Similar to the process described above withreference to step 221 above, the second blockchain transaction may beinitiated to deploy the contract to the blockchain. The secondblockchain transaction may correspond to the second transactionidentification (e.g., second transaction hash), which is also associatedwith the entity. The blockchain may store the association relationship.The blockchain may also store the corresponding second transactionidentification. By querying the second transaction identification, theblockchain-stored association can be retrieved.

At step 251, if the above steps are successfully executed, thecertification system 113 may return a message of registration success tothe registration system 111.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a method 300 for issuingblockchain-based digital certificates, in accordance with variousembodiments. The method 300 may be implemented by one or more components(e.g., the registration system 111, the blockchain system 112, thecertification system 113) of the system 110 of FIG. 1A. As describedearlier, though shown as separate systems, the registration system 111and the certification system 113 may be integrated into the digitalcertificate system 118 comprising one or more computing devices. Theoperations presented below are intended to be illustrative. Depending onthe implementation, the method 300 may include additional, fewer, oralternative steps performed in various orders or in parallel. The method300 may be executed after the method 200.

In some embodiments, at step 311, the first entity may initiate acertificate (e.g., digital certificate) generation request through theregistration system 111. In this specification, a certificate mayinclude a document attesting a certain fact or other information. Thecertificate may be endorsed by an entity. For example, entities likecorporates or institutions may issue financial transaction receipts inthe form of digital certificates. For another example, an insuranceagency may issue insurance policies or proof of insurance in the form ofdigital certificates.

At step 312, the registration system 111 may generate certificate data.The certificate data may comprise contents of the certificate accordingto the request. For example, a request to generate a receipt for afinancial transaction may correspond to certificate data such as date ofthe financial transaction, amount of the financial transaction, payorand payee of the financial transaction, etc.

At step 321, the registration system 111 may transmit the requestedcertificate to the certification system 113 and request thecertification system 113 to anchor the requested certificate with thedigital mark (e.g., digital signature/seal) described above with respectto FIG. 2. In this specification, anchoring may mean associating orotherwise establishing an association. The association may be stored inone or more components of the digital certificate system 118.

At step 322, the certification system 113 may anchor the requestedcertificate with the digital mark (e.g., digital signature/seal). Insome embodiments, the certification system 113 may generate a digitalabstract of the digital certificate.

At step 331, the certification system 113 may transmit the digitalabstract of the digital certificate to the blockchain system 112 torequest the blockchain system to 112 to store the digital abstract inthe blockchain.

In various embodiments, the certification system 113 may initiateanother blockchain transaction through a node of the blockchain system112. The transaction described in this paragraph may be referred to athird transaction and correspond to a third transaction identification.For example, the digital abstract of the digital certificate may bewritten into a blockchain contract (e.g., smart contract). Similar tothe process described above with reference to step 221 above, the thirdblockchain transaction may be initiated to deploy the contract to theblockchain. The third blockchain transaction may correspond to the thirdtransaction identification (e.g., third transaction hash). The thirdtransaction identification may be associated with information such asthe digital abstract of the digital certificate, a timestamp of thethird transaction, an initiator of the third transaction, etc. Theblockchain may store the digital abstract (e.g., hash value of thedigital certificate), but not store details (e.g., plaintext) of thedigital certificate to ensure privacy. The blockchain may also store thecorresponding third transaction identification. By querying the thirdtransaction identification, the blockchain-stored digital abstract ofthe digital certificate can be retrieved. Other alternative methods tosmart contract may be employed to achieve storage of the certificate inthe blockchain.

At step 332, the blockchain system 112 may return the third transactionidentification (e.g., third transaction hash) of the third transactionfor storing the digital abstract of the digital certificate to thecertification system 113. By steps 331 and 332, the digital abstract ofthe digital certificate stored in the blockchain can be used later toverify against abstracts of suspicious digital certificates.

At step 341, the certification system 113 may anchor the digitalseal/signature with the third transaction identification of the thirdtransaction for storing the digital abstract of the certificate. Sinceat step 322, the requested certificate is anchored with the digital mark(e.g., digital signature/seal), the digital certificate stored in thecertification system 113 is linked to its digital abstractrepresentation stored in the blockchain.

At step 351, the certification system 113 may transmit the associationamong the digital seal/signature, the third transaction identificationof the third transaction for storing the digital abstract of thecertificate, and the digital abstract of the digital certificate to theblockchain system 112 to store in the blockchain. Thus, the entity, thedigital seal/signature, and the digital certificate are associated, andthe association relationships are stored in the blockchain.

In various embodiments, the certification system 113 may initiateanother blockchain transaction through a node of the blockchain system112. The transaction described in this paragraph may be referred to afourth transaction and correspond to a fourth transactionidentification. For example, an association relationship of theassociation in step 351 may be written into a blockchain contract (e.g.,smart contract). Similar to the process described above with referenceto step 221 above, the fourth blockchain transaction may be initiated todeploy the contract to the blockchain. The fourth blockchain transactionmay correspond to a fourth transaction identification (e.g., fourthtransaction hash). The blockchain may store the associationrelationship. The blockchain may also store the correspondingtransaction identification. By querying the fourth transactionidentification, the blockchain-stored association can be retrieved.

At step 361, if the above steps are successfully executed, thecertification system 113 may return a message of success to theregistration system 111.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a method 400 for verifyingblockchain-based digital certificates, in accordance with variousembodiments. The method 400 may be implemented by one or more components(e.g., the registration system 111, the blockchain system 112, thecertification system 113) of the system 110 of FIG. 1A. As describedearlier, though shown as separate systems, the registration system 111and the certification system 113 may be integrated into the digitalcertificate system 118 comprising one or more computing devices. Theoperations presented below are intended to be illustrative. Depending onthe implementation, the method 400 may include additional, fewer, oralternative steps performed in various orders or in parallel.

In some embodiments, at step 411, a third-party entity may initiate averification of the certificate through the registration system 111. Forexample, the third-party may have obtained a digital certificate andwould like to verify if the obtained digital certificate exists in theblockchain in order to authenticate the certificate. Thus, thethird-party may submit the digital certificate for verification.

At step 412, the registration system 111 may transmit a request toverify the certificate such as the anchoring of the digital mark (e.g.,digital signature/seal) to the certification system 113.

At step 413, in response, the certification system 113 may obtain datacorresponding to the certificate from the blockchain to verify thecertificate. For example, the certification system 113 may queryblockchain-stored information (e.g., a digital abstract associated withthe certificate, a digital mark (e.g., digital signature/seal)associated with the certificate) through a node of the blockchain system112.

At step 421, the certification system 113 may obtain the correspondingdata from the blockchain. If the certificate exists in the blockchain,the data may comprise the information stored in the blockchain describedabove with reference to FIG. 3, such as the digital abstract associatedwith the certificate (referred to as the blockchain-stored digitalabstract), the digital mark (e.g., digital signature/seal) associatedwith the certificate (referred to as the blockchain-stored digitalmark).

At step 422, the certification system 113 may verify the anchoring (1)between the digital mark (e.g., digital signature/seal) and thecertificate and (2) between an abstract of the certificate and theblockchain-stored digital abstract associated with the certificate.Since the data may comprise a cryptographic process used for generatingthe digital abstract of the digital certificate (e.g., SHA-256 hashing),the certification system 113 may generate the abstract of thecertificate for performing the verification at step 422.

Alternatively, the blockchain system 112 may perform the verificationand return results to the certification system 113.

At step 431, the certification system 113 may return verificationresults to the registration system 111.

FIG. 5A illustrates a flow chart of an example of a method 510 forgenerating blockchain-based digital marks, in accordance with variousembodiments. The method 510 may be implemented by one or more components(e.g., the digital certificate system 118) of the system 110 of FIG. 1A.The method 510 may be implemented by a system comprising varioushardware machine and/or software. For example, the digital certificatesystem 118 may be implemented by one or more systems or devices (e.g.,computers, servers). The system implementing the method 510 may compriseone or more processors and one or more non-transitory computer-readablestorage media (e.g., one or more memories) coupled to the one or moreprocessors and configured with instructions executable by the one ormore processors to cause the system (e.g., the processor) to perform themethod 510. The operations presented below are intended to beillustrative. Depending on the implementation, the method 510 mayinclude additional, fewer, or alternative steps performed in variousorders or in parallel. An example of an implementation of the method 510is described above with reference to FIG. 2.

Step 511 includes obtaining entity information of an entity. In someembodiments, the entity is a corporation, and the entity informationcomprises corporation registration information certified by an officialagency. For example, the digital certificate system 118 may obtain theentity information from the entity as registration information. Thedigital certificate system 118 may forward the registration informationto an official agency system for verification. Once verified, thefollowing steps can be performed to generate the digital mark.

Step 512 includes transmitting the entity information to one or morenodes of a blockchain for storage in the blockchain. In someembodiments, transmitting the entity information to the one or morenodes of the blockchain for storage in the blockchain comprises: writingat least the entity information into a blockchain contract; and causingthe one or more nodes to initiate a blockchain transaction to deploy theblockchain contact. For example, the nodes of the blockchain may haveprivileges to initiate blockchain transactions. The digital certificatesystem 118 may couple to one or more of the nodes to initiate theblockchain transaction. The nodes may verify and execute the blockchaintransaction according to consensus rules. After the deployment, theblockchain transaction is packed into a new block of the blockchain, acopy of which is available to the nodes. Details can be referred to thestep 221 described above. The blockchain transaction in this case maycorrespond to a transaction identification (e.g., transaction hash). Theblockchain may store the entity information. The blockchain may alsostore the corresponding transaction identification. By querying thetransaction identification, the blockchain-stored entity information canbe retrieved.

Step 513 includes obtaining a transaction identification (e.g., digitalabstract) associated with storing the entity information in theblockchain. The transaction identification may be returned by one ormore nodes of the blockchain when the entity information is successfullystored in the blockchain. In some embodiments, the transactionidentification comprises a hash value of the blockchain transaction. Forexample, the hash algorithm can be understood as a function thatcompresses messages of any length into a fixed-length message digest.Commonly-used hash functions include MD5 and SHA. The hash value of theblockchain transaction may include an output of a hash function havingvarious information of the blockchain transaction as inputs. The variousinformation of the blockchain transaction may include one or moretransaction parameters such as “from” (sender address), “value”(transaction value), “gas” (expense for completing the transaction),“data” (blockchain contract data), etc. The hash algorithm in theblockchain is irreversible, that is, the forward calculation is easy,and the reverse calculation cannot be done even if all computingresources are exhausted. Thus, the hash value of the blockchaintransaction is unique. Details can be referred to the step 222 describedabove.

Step 514 includes generating a digital mark for the entity based atleast on the transaction identification. The digital mark is associatedwith the entity. The association relationship may be maintained by thedigital certificate system 118. In some embodiments, the digital markcomprises the transaction identification (e.g., a hash value of theblockchain transaction). A hash value of certain data is the numericresult of applying hash algorithm to the data such as the variousinformation of the blockchain transaction described above. For example,the digital mark may be the transaction identification of step 513. Thetransaction identification may be alternatively referred to as a digestof the corresponding transaction. Details can be referred to the step231 described above.

In some embodiments, the digital mark comprises at least one of adigital seal or a digital signature; and the digital mark is associablewith a digital certificate to show endorsement by the entity. Forexample, by the association, the digital mark and the digitalcertificate may be combined into one file. For another example, by theassociation, the digital certificate may be linked to the digital mark.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises transmitting anassociation relationship between the entity and the digital mark to theone or more nodes for storage in the blockchain. For example, the nodesof the blockchain may have privileges to initiate blockchaintransactions. The digital certificate system 118 may couple to one ormore of the nodes to initiate the blockchain transaction. The nodes mayverify and execute the blockchain transaction according to consensusrules. After the deployment, the blockchain transaction is packed into anew block of the blockchain, a copy of which is available to the nodes.Details can be referred to the step 241 described above. The blockchaintransaction in this case may correspond to a transaction identification(e.g., transaction hash). The blockchain may store the association. Theblockchain may also store the corresponding transaction identification.By querying the transaction identification, the blockchain-storedassociation can be retrieved.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: generating a digitalcertificate; associating the digital mark with the digital certificate;transmitting the digital certificate to one or more nodes of ablockchain for storage in the blockchain; obtaining another digitalabstract associated with storing the digital certificate in theblockchain; associating the digital mark with the another digitalabstract; and transmitting an association relationship between thedigital mark and the transaction identification to the one or more nodesfor storage in the blockchain. The association of the digital mark withthe another digital abstract shows endorsement by the entity. Since thedigital certificate is linked to the another digital abstract, thedigital certificate is endorsed by the entity. The method may furthercomprise transmitting the association relationship of the digital markwith the transaction identification to the one or more nodes for storagein the blockchain. More details are described below with reference toFIG. 5B.

In other embodiments, the digital certificate may be obtained by anymeans. The method further comprises: generating a digital abstract of adigital certificate associated with the entity; transmitting the digitalabstract of the digital certificate to the one or more nodes of theblockchain for storage in the blockchain; obtaining another transactionidentification associated with storing the digital abstract of thedigital certificate in the blockchain; and associating the digital markwith the another transaction identification. The association of thedigital mark with the another transaction identification showsendorsement by the entity. Because the digital certificate is linked tothe another transaction identification, the digital certificate isendorsed by the entity. The method may further comprise transmitting anassociation relationship of the digital mark with the anothertransaction identification to the one or more nodes for storage in theblockchain.

In still other embodiments, the method further comprises: generating adigital abstract of a digital certificate associated with the entity;and associating the digital mark with the digital abstract. Theassociation of the digital mark with the digital abstract showsendorsement by the entity. Since the digital certificate is linked tothe digital abstract, the digital certificate is endorsed by the entity.The method may further comprise transmitting an association relationshipof the digital mark with the digital abstract to the one or more nodesfor storage in the blockchain.

In yet other embodiments, the method further comprises: associating thedigital mark with a digital certificate associated with the entity. Theassociation of the digital mark with the digital certificate showsendorsement by the entity. The method may further comprise transmittingan association relationship of the digital mark with the digitalcertificate to the one or more nodes for storage in the blockchain.

FIG. 5B illustrates a flow chart of an example of a method 520 forimplementing blockchain-based digital certificates, in accordance withvarious embodiments. The method 520 may be implemented by one or morecomponents (e.g., the digital certificate system 118) of the system 110of FIG. 1A. The method 520 may be implemented by a system comprisingvarious hardware machine and/or software. For example, the digitalcertificate system 118 may be implemented by one or more systems ordevices (e.g., computers, servers). The system implementing the method520 may comprise one or more processors and one or more non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media (e.g., one or more memories) coupled tothe one or more processors and configured with instructions executableby the one or more processors to cause the system (e.g., the processor)to perform the method 520. The operations presented below are intendedto be illustrative. Depending on the implementation, the method 520 mayinclude additional, fewer, or alternative steps performed in variousorders or in parallel. An example of an implementation of the method 520is described above with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4.

Step 521 includes generating a digital certificate. In some embodiments,generating the digital certificate comprises: obtaining contents of thedigital certificate from an entity, the entity being a corporation; andgenerating the digital certificate comprising the contents. For example,the digital certificate system 118 may obtain contents that need to beshown on the digital certificate from the entity or another source.Details can be referred to the step 312 described above.

Optional step 522 includes associating a digital mark with the digitalcertificate. The digital mark may be that described above with referenceto FIG. 5A. The digital mark may be maintained by the digitalcertificate system 118. In some embodiments, the digital mark comprisesa digital seal and/or a digital signature; and the digital mark isassociated with endorsement by an entity. Details can be referred to thestep 322 described above.

Step 523 includes generating a digital abstract of the digitalcertificate. For example, a hash process such as SHA-256 may be used togenerate the digital abstract from the digital certificate. Thus,contents of the digital certificate are transformed to a cryptographicrepresentation.

Step 524 includes transmitting the digital abstract of the digitalcertificate to one or more nodes of a blockchain for storage in theblockchain. In some embodiments, transmitting the digital abstract ofthe digital certificate to the one or more nodes of the blockchain forstorage in the blockchain comprises: writing the digital abstract of thedigital certificate and a cryptographic process used for generating thedigital abstract (e.g., SHA-256 hashing) into a blockchain contract; andcausing the one or more nodes to initiate a blockchain transaction todeploy the blockchain contact. For example, the nodes of the blockchainmay have privileges to initiate blockchain transactions. The digitalcertificate system 118 may couple to one or more of the nodes toinitiate the blockchain transaction. The nodes may verify and executethe blockchain transaction according to consensus rules. After thedeployment, the blockchain transaction is packed into a new block of theblockchain, a copy of which is available to the nodes. Details can bereferred to the step 331 described above. The blockchain transaction inthis case may correspond to a transaction identification (e.g.,transaction hash). The blockchain may store the digital abstract (e.g.,hash value of the digital certificate), but not store details (e.g.,plaintext) of the digital certificate to ensure privacy. The blockchainmay also store the corresponding transaction identification. By queryingthe transaction identification, the blockchain-stored digital abstractof the digital certificate can be retrieved.

Step 525 includes obtaining a transaction identification associated withstoring the digital abstract of the digital certificate in theblockchain. The transaction identification (e.g., an abstract of thetransaction) may be returned by one or more nodes of the blockchain whenthe digital abstract of the digital certificate is successfully storedin the blockchain. In some embodiments, the digital abstract comprises ahash value of the digital certificate; and the transactionidentification comprises a hash value of the blockchain transaction. Theblockchain may store the digital abstract rather than the plaintext ofthe digital certificate in order to protect privacy. Details can bereferred to the step 332 described above.

Step 526 includes associating the digital mark with the transactionidentification. Details can be referred to the anchoring step 341described above. In some embodiments, associating the digital mark withthe transaction identification comprises: associating the digital mark,the transaction identification, and the digital abstract. In someembodiments, the method further comprises: transmitting an associationrelationship between the digital mark and the transaction identificationto the one or more nodes for storage in the blockchain. In someembodiments, the method further comprises: transmitting an associationamong the digital mark, the transaction identification, and the digitalabstract. For example, the nodes of the blockchain may have privilegesto initiate blockchain transactions. The digital certificate system 118may couple to one or more of the nodes to initiate the blockchaintransaction. The nodes may verify and execute the blockchain transactionaccording to consensus rules. After the deployment, the blockchaintransaction is packed into a new block of the blockchain, a copy ofwhich is available to the nodes. Details can be referred to the step 351described above. The blockchain transaction in this case may correspondto a transaction identification (e.g., transaction hash). The blockchainmay store the association. The blockchain may also store thecorresponding transaction identification. By querying the transactionidentification, the blockchain-stored association can be retrieved.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: in response to averification request for an unverified digital certificate endorsed byan unverified digital mark, obtaining a transaction identificationcorresponding to the unverified digital certificate; according to thetransaction identification corresponding to the unverified digitalcertificate, obtaining a blockchain-stored digital abstract and ablockchain-stored digital mark; generating a digital abstract of theunverified digital certificate according to a cryptographic process usedfor generating the digital abstract of the digital certificate;verifying if the blockchain-stored digital abstract is consistent withthe digital abstract of the unverified digital certificate and if theblockchain-stored digital mark is consistent with the unverified digitalmark; in response to determining that the blockchain-stored digitalabstract is consistent with the digital abstract of the unverifieddigital certificate and the blockchain-stored digital mark is consistentwith the unverified digital mark, determining that the unverifieddigital certificate is authentic; and in response to determining thatthe blockchain-stored digital abstract is inconsistent with the digitalabstract of the unverified digital certificate or the blockchain-storeddigital mark is inconsistent with the unverified digital mark,determining that the unverified digital certificate is unauthentic.

For example, as described above with reference to FIG. 4, a third-partymay have received the unverified digital certificate endorsed by anunverified mark of an unverified entity and would like to verify itsauthenticity. Since the blockchain stores association relationshipsamong entities, abstracts for digital certificates, transactionidentifications, and corresponding digital marks, the digitalcertificate system 118 may obtain the transaction identificationcorresponding to the unverified digital certificate and correspondinglyretrieve blockchain-stored information, for example, by initiating atransaction via one or more nodes of the blockchain to obtain data(e.g., blockchain-stored digital abstract, blockchain-stored digitalmark, blockchain-stored entity information) associated with theunverified digital certificate. For verification, the digitalcertificate system 118 may derive a digital abstract of the unverifieddigital certificate. The digital certificate system 118 may verify ifthe digital abstract of the unverified digital certificate is consistentwith the blockchain-stored digital abstract (to ensure that the contentsof the digital certificate have not been tampered with) and if theunverified digital mark is consistent with the digital mark (to ensurethat the endorsing entity is accurate). Optionally, the digitalcertificate system 118 may verify if the unverified entity is consistentwith the blockchain-stored entity information associated with thedigital certificate. If the consistency verifications succeed, thedigital certificate system 118 may determine that the unverified digitalcertificate is authentic. If the data cannot be obtained or if any ofthe consistency verifications fails, the digital certificate system 118may determine that the unverified digital certificate is unauthentic.

FIG. 6A illustrates a block diagram of an example of a computer system610 for generating blockchain-based digital mark, in accordance withvarious embodiments. The system 610 may be an example of animplementation of one or more components (e.g., the digital certificatesystem 118) of the system 110 of FIG. 1A. The method 510 may beimplemented by the computer system 610. The computer system 610 maycomprise one or more processors and one or more non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media (e.g., one or more memories) coupled tothe one or more processors and configured with instructions executableby the one or more processors to cause the system or device (e.g., theprocessor) to perform the method 510. The computer system 610 maycomprise various units/modules corresponding to the instructions (e.g.,software instructions). In some embodiments, the computer system 610 maybe referred to as a blockchain-based digital mark generation apparatus.The blockchain-based digital mark generation apparatus may comprise afirst obtaining module 611 for obtaining entity information of anentity; a transmitting module 612 for transmitting the entityinformation to one or more nodes of a blockchain for storage in theblockchain; a second obtaining module 613 for obtaining a transactionidentification associated with storing the entity information in theblockchain; and a generating module 614 for generating a digital markfor the entity based at least on the transaction identification.

FIG. 6B illustrates a block diagram of an example of a computer system620 for implementing blockchain-based digital certificate, in accordancewith various embodiments. The system 620 may be an example of animplementation of one or more components (e.g., the digital certificatesystem 118) of the system 110 of FIG. 1A. The method 520 may beimplemented by the computer system 620. The computer system 620 maycomprise one or more processors and one or more non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media (e.g., one or more memories) coupled tothe one or more processors and configured with instructions executableby the one or more processors to cause the system or device (e.g., theprocessor) to perform the method 520. The computer system 620 maycomprise various units/modules corresponding to the instructions (e.g.,software instructions). In some embodiments, the computer system 620 maybe referred to as a blockchain-based digital certificate apparatus. Theblockchain-based digital certificate apparatus may comprise a firstgenerating module 621 for generating a digital certificate; a secondgenerating module 622 for generating a digital abstract of the digitalcertificate; a transmitting module 623 for transmitting the digitalabstract of the digital certificate to one or more nodes of a blockchainfor storage in the blockchain; an obtaining module 624 for obtaining atransaction identification associated with storing the digital abstractof the digital certificate in the blockchain; and an associating module625 for associating the digital mark with the transactionidentification.

As shown, by obtaining a digital abstract of the digital certificate andstoring the abstract in the blockchain, a representation of the originaldigital certificate can be securely maintained and accessible forverification. Tampering of the digital certificate can be thwarted basedon the blockchain consensus rules including hashing. The digitalabstract representation of the digital certificate may also hide awayplaintext information to protect privacy. Further, the blockchain-storedrepresentation of the original digital certificate is associated withthe corresponding endorsing digital mark and the correspondingtransaction identification storing the endorsing relationship. Throughquerying transaction identification, such associated information can beretrieved from the blockchain for verification. Thus, digitalcertificate issuance and verification can be provided with assurance ofsecurity.

The techniques described herein are implemented by one or morespecial-purpose computing devices. The special-purpose computing devicesmay be desktop computer systems, server computer systems, portablecomputer systems, handheld devices, networking devices or any otherdevice or combination of devices that incorporate hard-wired and/orprogram logic to implement the techniques. The special-purpose computingdevices may be implemented as personal computers, laptops, cellularphones, camera phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants, mediaplayers, navigation devices, email devices, game consoles, tabletcomputers, wearable devices, or a combination thereof. Computingdevice(s) are generally controlled and coordinated by operating systemsoftware. Conventional operating systems control and schedule computerprocesses for execution, perform memory management, provide file system,networking, I/O services, and provide a user interface functionality,such as a graphical user interface (“GUI”), among other things. Thevarious systems, apparatuses, storage media, modules, and unitsdescribed herein may be implemented in the special-purpose computingdevices, or one or more computing chips of the one or morespecial-purpose computing devices. In some embodiments, the instructionsdescribed herein may be implemented in a virtual machine on thespecial-purpose computing device. When executed, the instructions maycause the special-purpose computing device to perform various methodsdescribed herein. The virtual machine may include a software, hardware,or a combination thereof. For example, the virtual machine may includean Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) software that provides the runtimeenvironment for smart contracts in Ethereum.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram that illustrates a computer system 700 uponwhich any of the embodiments described herein may be implemented. Thesystem 700 may be implemented in any of the systems and devicesdescribed herein and configured to perform corresponding steps forimplementing blockchain-based digital certificate. The computer system700 includes a bus 702 or other communication mechanism forcommunicating information, one or more hardware processor(s) 704 coupledwith bus 702 for processing information. Hardware processor(s) 704 maybe, for example, one or more general purpose microprocessors.

The computer system 700 also includes a main memory 706, such as arandom access memory (RAM), cache and/or other dynamic storage devices,coupled to bus 702 for storing information and instructions executableby processor(s) 704. Main memory 706 also may be used for storingtemporary variables or other intermediate information during executionof instructions executable by processor(s) 704. Such instructions, whenstored in storage media accessible to processor(s) 704, render computersystem 700 into a special-purpose machine that is customized to performthe operations specified in the instructions. The computer system 700further includes a read only memory (ROM) 708 or other static storagedevice coupled to bus 702 for storing static information andinstructions for processor(s) 704. A storage device 710, such as amagnetic disk, optical disk, or USB thumb drive (Flash drive), etc., isprovided and coupled to bus 702 for storing information andinstructions.

The computer system 700 may implement the techniques described hereinusing customized hard-wired logic, one or more ASICs or FPGAs, firmwareand/or program logic which in combination with the computer systemcauses or programs computer system 700 to be a special-purpose machine.According to one embodiment, the operations, methods, and processesdescribed herein are performed by computer system 700 in response toprocessor(s) 704 executing one or more sequences of one or moreinstructions contained in main memory 706. Such instructions may be readinto main memory 706 from another storage medium, such as storage device710. Execution of the sequences of instructions contained in main memory706 causes processor(s) 704 to perform the process steps describedherein. In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used inplace of or in combination with software instructions.

The main memory 706, the ROM 708, and/or the storage device 710 mayinclude non-transitory storage media. The term “non-transitory media,”and similar terms, as used herein refers to media that store data and/orinstructions that cause a machine to operate in a specific fashion, themedia excludes transitory signals. Such non-transitory media maycomprise non-volatile media and/or volatile media. Non-volatile mediaincludes, for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as storage device710. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as main memory 706.Common forms of non-transitory media include, for example, a floppydisk, a flexible disk, hard disk, solid state drive, magnetic tape, orany other magnetic data storage medium, a CD-ROM, any other optical datastorage medium, any physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, aPROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, NVRAM, any other memory chip orcartridge, and networked versions of the same.

The computer system 700 also includes a network interface 718 coupled tobus 702. Network interface 718 provides a two-way data communicationcoupling to one or more network links that are connected to one or morelocal networks. For example, network interface 718 may be an integratedservices digital network (ISDN) card, cable modem, satellite modem, or amodem to provide a data communication connection to a corresponding typeof telephone line. As another example, network interface 718 may be alocal area network (LAN) card to provide a data communication connectionto a compatible LAN (or WAN component to communicate with a WAN).Wireless links may also be implemented. In any such implementation,network interface 718 sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic oroptical signals that carry digital data streams representing varioustypes of information.

The computer system 700 can send messages and receive data, includingprogram code, through the network(s), network link and network interface718. In the Internet example, a server might transmit a requested codefor an application program through the Internet, the ISP, the localnetwork and the network interface 718.

The received code may be executed by processor(s) 704 as it is received,and/or stored in storage device 710, or other non-volatile storage forlater execution.

Each of the processes, methods, and algorithms described in thepreceding sections may be embodied in, and fully or partially automatedby, code modules executed by one or more computer systems or computerprocessors comprising computer hardware. The processes and algorithmsmay be implemented partially or wholly in application-specificcircuitry.

The various features and processes described above may be usedindependently of one another, or may be combined in various ways. Allpossible combinations and sub-combinations are intended to fall withinthe scope of this specification. In addition, certain method or processblocks may be omitted in some implementations. The methods and processesdescribed herein are also not limited to any particular sequence, andthe blocks or states relating thereto can be performed in othersequences that are appropriate. For example, described blocks or statesmay be performed in an order other than that specifically disclosed, ormultiple blocks or states may be combined in a single block or state.The examples of blocks or states may be performed in serial, inparallel, or in some other manner. Blocks or states may be added to orremoved from the disclosed embodiments. The examples of systems andcomponents described herein may be configured differently thandescribed. For example, elements may be added to, removed from, orrearranged compared to the disclosed embodiments.

The various operations of methods described herein may be performed, atleast partially, by an algorithm. The algorithm may be comprised inprogram codes or instructions stored in a memory (e.g., a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium described above). Such algorithm maycomprise a machine learning algorithm. In some embodiments, a machinelearning algorithm may not explicitly program computers to perform afunction, but can learn from training data to make a predictions modelthat performs the function.

The various operations of methods described herein may be performed, atleast partially, by one or more processors that are temporarilyconfigured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured to perform therelevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanently configured, suchprocessors may constitute processor-implemented engines that operate toperform one or more operations or functions described herein.

Similarly, the methods described herein may be at least partiallyprocessor-implemented, with a particular processor or processors beingan example of hardware. For example, at least some of the operations ofa method may be performed by one or more processors orprocessor-implemented engines. Moreover, the one or more processors mayalso operate to support performance of the relevant operations in a“cloud computing” environment or as a “software as a service” (SaaS).For example, at least some of the operations may be performed by a groupof computers (as examples of machines including processors), with theseoperations being accessible via a network (e.g., the Internet) and viaone or more appropriate interfaces (e.g., an Application ProgramInterface (API)).

The performance of certain of the operations may be distributed amongthe processors, not only residing within a single machine, but deployedacross a number of machines. In some embodiments, the processors orprocessor-implemented engines may be located in a single geographiclocation (e.g., within a home environment, an office environment, or aserver farm). In other embodiments, the processors orprocessor-implemented engines may be distributed across a number ofgeographic locations.

Throughout this specification, plural instances may implementcomponents, operations, or structures described as a single instance.Although individual operations of one or more methods are illustratedand described as separate operations, one or more of the individualoperations may be performed concurrently, and nothing requires that theoperations be performed in the order illustrated. Structures andfunctionality presented as separate components in configurations may beimplemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly, structuresand functionality presented as a single component may be implemented asseparate components. These and other variations, modifications,additions, and improvements fall within the scope of the subject matterherein.

Although an overview of the subject matter has been described withreference to specific embodiments, various modifications and changes maybe made to these embodiments without departing from the broader scope ofembodiments of the this specification. The Detailed Description shouldnot to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of variousembodiments is defined only by the appended claims, along with the fullrange of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Furthermore,related terms (such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc.) used herein donot denote any order, height, or importance, but rather are used todistinguish one element from another element. Furthermore, the terms“a,” “an,” and “plurality” do not denote a limitation of quantityherein, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the articlesmentioned.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method forgenerating digital marks, comprising: obtaining entity information of anentity; storing the entity information to a blockchain by transmitting afirst blockchain transaction comprising the entity information to one ormore blockchain nodes for generating a first transaction identificationof the first blockchain transaction and storing the first blockchaintransaction corresponding to the first transaction identification to theblockchain through consensus verification; obtaining the firsttransaction identification of the first blockchain transaction, whereinthe first transaction identification is publicly queryable from theblockchain to retrieve the entity information stored to the blockchain;generating a digital mark for the entity based at least on the firsttransaction identification, wherein the digital mark is associable witha digital certificate to represent endorsement of the digitalcertificate by the entity; creating an association relationship betweenthe entity and the digital mark; storing the association relationship tothe blockchain by transmitting a second blockchain transactioncomprising the association relationship to one or more blockchain nodesfor generating a second transaction identification of the secondblockchain transaction and storing the second blockchain transactioncorresponding to the second transaction identification to the blockchainthrough consensus verification; and obtaining the second transactionidentification of the second blockchain transaction, wherein the secondtransaction identification is publicly queryable from the blockchain toretrieve the association relationship including the first transactionidentification.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein: the digital markcomprises at least one of a digital seal or a digital signature.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein storing the entity information to theblockchain comprises: writing at least the entity information into ablockchain contract; and deploying the blockchain contact in theblockchain.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein: the first transactionidentification is a hash value of the first blockchain transaction; andthe second transaction identification is a hash value of the secondblockchain transaction.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein: the digitalmark is a hash value of the first blockchain transaction.
 6. The methodof claim 1, wherein: the entity is a corporation; and the entityinformation comprises corporation registration information certified byan official agency.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:generating a digital abstract of the digital certificate by hashing thedigital certificate; storing the digital abstract of the digitalcertificate to the blockchain by transmitting a third blockchaintransaction comprising the digital abstract of the digital certificateto one or more blockchain nodes for generating a third transactionidentification of the second blockchain transaction and storing thethird blockchain transaction corresponding to the third transactionidentification to the blockchain through consensus verification;obtaining the third transaction identification of the third blockchaintransaction; creating an association relationship between the digitalmark, the digital abstract of the digital certificate, and the thirdtransaction identification; and storing the association relationship tothe blockchain.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein storing theassociation relationship to the blockchain comprises: generating afourth blockchain transaction comprising the association relationshipbetween the digital mark, the digital abstract of the digitalcertificate, and the third transaction identification; and establishinga proof of the entity's endorsement of the digital certificate bytransmitting the fourth blockchain transaction to one or more blockchainnodes for storing the fourth blockchain transaction to the blockchainthrough consensus verification.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein: theproof is queryable through a fourth transaction identification of thefourth blockchain transaction; and the fourth blockchain transactionstored to the blockchain links the entity and the digital certificatewithout storing a plaintext of the digital certificate to theblockchain.
 10. A digital mark generation system, comprising one or moreprocessors and one or more non-transitory computer-readable memoriescoupled to the one or more processors and configured with instructionsexecutable by the one or more processors to cause the system to performoperations comprising: obtaining entity information of an entity;storing the entity information to a blockchain by transmitting a firstblockchain transaction comprising the entity information to one or moreblockchain nodes for generating a first transaction identification ofthe first blockchain transaction and storing the first blockchaintransaction corresponding to the first transaction identification to theblockchain through consensus verification; obtaining the firsttransaction identification of the first blockchain transaction, whereinthe first transaction identification is publicly queryable from theblockchain to retrieve the entity information stored to the blockchain;generating a digital mark for the entity based at least on the firsttransaction identification, wherein the digital mark is associable witha digital certificate to represent endorsement of the digitalcertificate by the entity; creating an association relationship betweenthe entity and the digital mark; storing the association relationship tothe blockchain by transmitting a second blockchain transactioncomprising the association relationship to one or more blockchain nodesfor generating a second transaction identification of the secondblockchain transaction and storing the second blockchain transactioncorresponding to the second transaction identification to the blockchainthrough consensus verification; and obtaining the second transactionidentification of the second blockchain transaction, wherein the secondtransaction identification is publicly queryable from the blockchain toretrieve the association relationship including the first transactionidentification.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein: the digital markcomprises at least one of a digital seal or a digital signature.
 12. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein: the entity is a corporation; and the entityinformation comprises corporation registration information certified byan official agency.
 13. The system of claim 10, wherein the operationsfurther comprise: generating a digital abstract of the digitalcertificate by hashing the digital certificate; storing the digitalabstract of the digital certificate to the blockchain by transmitting athird blockchain transaction comprising the digital abstract of thedigital certificate to one or more blockchain nodes for generating athird transaction identification of the second blockchain transactionand storing the third blockchain transaction corresponding to the thirdtransaction identification to the blockchain through consensusverification; obtaining the third transaction identification of thethird blockchain transaction; creating an association relationshipbetween the digital mark, the digital abstract of the digitalcertificate, and the third transaction identification; and storing theassociation relationship to the blockchain.
 14. The system of claim 13,wherein storing the association relationship to the blockchaincomprises: generating a fourth blockchain transaction comprising theassociation relationship between the digital mark, the digital abstractof the digital certificate, and the third transaction identification;and establishing a proof of the entity's endorsement of the digitalcertificate by transmitting the fourth blockchain transaction to one ormore blockchain nodes for storing the fourth blockchain transaction tothe blockchain through consensus verification.
 15. The system of claim10, wherein: the proof is queryable through a fourth transactionidentification of the fourth blockchain transaction; and the fourthblockchain transaction stored to the blockchain links the entity and thedigital certificate without storing a plaintext of the digitalcertificate to the blockchain.
 16. A non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium configured with instructions executable by one or moreprocessors to cause the one or more processors to perform operationscomprising: obtaining entity information of an entity; storing theentity information to a blockchain by transmitting a first blockchaintransaction comprising the entity information to one or more blockchainnodes for generating a first transaction identification of the firstblockchain transaction and storing the first blockchain transactioncorresponding to the first transaction identification to the blockchainthrough consensus verification; obtaining the first transactionidentification of the first blockchain transaction, wherein the firsttransaction identification is publicly queryable from the blockchain toretrieve the entity information stored to the blockchain; generating adigital mark for the entity based at least on the first transactionidentification, wherein the digital mark is associable with a digitalcertificate to represent endorsement of the digital certificate by theentity; creating an association relationship between the entity and thedigital mark; storing the association relationship to the blockchain bytransmitting a second blockchain transaction comprising the associationrelationship to one or more blockchain nodes for generating a secondtransaction identification of the second blockchain transaction andstoring the second blockchain transaction corresponding to the secondtransaction identification to the blockchain through consensusverification; and obtaining the second transaction identification of thesecond blockchain transaction, wherein the second transactionidentification is publicly queryable from the blockchain to retrieve theassociation relationship including the first transaction identification.17. The storage medium of claim 16, wherein: the digital mark comprisesat least one of a digital seal or a digital signature.
 18. The storagemedium of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise: generatinga digital abstract of the digital certificate by hashing the digitalcertificate; storing the digital abstract of the digital certificate tothe blockchain by transmitting a third blockchain transaction comprisingthe digital abstract of the digital certificate to one or moreblockchain nodes for generating a third transaction identification ofthe second blockchain transaction and storing the third blockchaintransaction corresponding to the third transaction identification to theblockchain through consensus verification; obtaining the thirdtransaction identification of the third blockchain transaction; creatingan association relationship between the digital mark, the digitalabstract of the digital certificate, and the third transactionidentification; and storing the association relationship to theblockchain.
 19. The storage medium of claim 18, wherein storing theassociation relationship to the blockchain comprises: generating afourth blockchain transaction comprising the association relationshipbetween the digital mark, the digital abstract of the digitalcertificate, and the third transaction identification; and establishinga proof of the entity's endorsement of the digital certificate bytransmitting the fourth blockchain transaction to one or more blockchainnodes for storing the fourth blockchain transaction to the blockchainthrough consensus verification.
 20. The storage medium of claim 16,wherein: the proof is queryable through a fourth transactionidentification of the fourth blockchain transaction; and the fourthblockchain transaction stored to the blockchain links the entity and thedigital certificate without storing a plaintext of the digitalcertificate to the blockchain.